Top Modern Australian restaurants in Melbourne, Australia

Close to a 10/10 experience.

We came here with a gluten, dairy, onion & garlic intolerance and they were able to cater for us.

The service was close to perfect as the waiters were knowledgeable and helpful especially with the food intolerances. One of the ladies gave us a customised menu which showed us which foods we could and couldn’t eat.

We ordered the scotch fillet which was cooked medium rare without us asking how we wanted it cooked. Luckily, we love medium rare steak and this steak was phenomenal!🥩

We also ordered the fries / chips which tasted like McDonalds. We loved these.🍟

Lastly, we ordered the fried rice which tasted amazing. 🍚

Our order came to $187 including a $17 Sunday surcharge.

We would definitely would like to come back and definitely would recommend to others.

The only thing that’s stopped me from rating this five out of five, was that I asked if there was any decaffeinated espresso martini, and the waiter never got back to me. I also think the menu prices were a little high.

Thank you Coda.

We stumbled across this basement restaurant one afternoon - DJ was our friendly waiter. We tried 3 dishes: the Cheong fun with sesame, puff rice and cabbage with peanut sauce; the Cos hearts, wasabi peas with pomegranate; and the "Ma la" (numbing spice) lamb with roti.

Food was fusion, but with the right amounts of spice, flavour and refreshing mixture of tastes that made for a thoroughly enjoyable lunch.

I was quite excited when I coming into the Coda. The duck liver puff was the first came out which was delicious and got me excited for what is to come. But it turns out being the highlight of the night, the rest of the dishes were okay, but nothing outstanding. Service is fine and the atmosphere was lovely.

Lovely presentation of the meals with splendid combinations of flavours and textures. Down side was that the fish and the steak were a bit cold perhaps too long on the pass, also the fish had a few bones, the smoked chocolate just too smoky , duck pate superb, oysters wonderful, salmon gravlax with kafir lime beautiful

Food is exceptional. Best meal I’ve had for a very long time and I eat out a lot.
Every item we had was just so tasty and tantalising. The flavour combinations are sophisticated and so carefully matched and you can tell a lot of care has gone into preparing each dish. I can’t wait to go back and have in fact booked again next month.

Staff were very friendly amd knowledgeable about the menu and although could’ve been a little more attentive, on balance were probably right to give us space given we were with our young kids. They were very accommodating of us with the kids so can’t fault them.

Bravo.

Went here for our anniversary.
First of all the service is nice. The staff who served us is really lovely, friendly and very helpful with my halal dietary. Secondly, the atmosphere is nice as well. Now let’s talking about the food. Every food that we got are all delicious. Every bites in my mouth got me into different universe. Sooooooo goood 11/10. Out of the restaurant with pregnant tummy from the food. So good so delicious.

Such a good and safe restaurant to go to when you don't know anywhere else to go. I went for dinner and had the set menu which was overall yummy but not the best seasoned food I've had. There are definitely other restaurants that have better tasting food for a better price. However, i definitely recommend getting the set menu as all of the dishes complimented each other.

The service was great with attentive waiters. The ambience was also really nice. It's a great place for a dinner date or even a catchup with friends.

Not much to fault really! Every dish was executed as it should. The rice cakes were soft, chewy, but slightly crispy on the outside. The nori had the perfect crunch and the scallop was seared beautifully. The lamb was amazingly tender and had real depth of flavour. The coconut sago and ginger granita were perfectly balanced and very refreshing. The peanut butter parfait was silky smooth.
Service was fantastic. It was the perfect lunch.

⭐️ 4/5
Asian fusion restaurants in the city with a boujee atmosphere, delightful food, and impeccable warm lighting.

Service ⭐️ 4/5
The staff is well-trained, exhibiting excellence from greetings to overall service. Despite a bustling venue, they remain super approachable. The only room for improvement is a slightly quicker pace in delivering the food.

Food ⭐️ 4/5
Melbourne's classic Asian fusion cuisine, blending East and West with a modern and luxurious touch. While everything tasted exquisite and expensive, note that the dishes tend to lean towards a salty flavor profile, complementing well with the drinks.

Fantastic dinner with top notch service. The bar program and menu is excellent.

The atmosphere is lively with a semi-open kitchen to get a peek of what’s going on behind the scenes.

So many things sounded good; a return visit is a must.

Went there for NYE dinner. Lovely service, very friendly and helpful team. A pretty building, but the vibe was pretty ordinary.

The reason this restaurant was half empty on NYE is because of the food. Odd flavors, stale mini waffles, old fashioned dishes, bizarre proportions, literally not hot enough, unpleasant food. I hope they find new chefs as soon as possible.

To top it off, it was so expensive. I realized this restaurant is part of a hotel and it made sense - it was room service food, but they priced themselves like a Michelin restaurant.

Extremely disappointing to have spent our NYE there and spent so much money on this.

Had company function in Luci. Nice and clean setup. Very spacious and lounge area. It will be good if tables can be set up near the seating areas for future events so that it is more convenient for people to eat. Food varieties was not that great though. Taste was just fine.

Top-notch Asian fusion

I had the $120pp banquet for dinner. The foods were incredible and I enjoyed every dish. Each dish is amazingly creative and the ingredient quality is super good. The most note-worthy one was the lobster roll, which is the best lobster roll I’ve had in Melbourne so far. The amount of foods were just right for us and they came out fairly fast!
I have nothing but to praise their service. They all are friendly, professional, and always smiling.
The ambience is absolutely great! But I definitely recommend to book for a table in advance.

Friendly staff and great atmosphere, but food was a bit off for us unfortunately.

The chicken dish was not what we expected. It was presented cold, and there was a lot of fat and skin on it. To be honest I had trouble chewing it. The texture wasn’t working for me. It was one bite and done.

The Korean rice cakes were a hit and the highlight of the meal! They were a 10!

Our dumplings and pot stickers were good, but not great. A little heavy for my taste, but they were good.

Overall a decent experience minus the chicken. I’d go back but wouldn’t go out of my way to eat at odd times if reservation wasn’t available or they didn’t have seats when I walked in.

My workmate has been raving about Coda for many times so I decided to celebrate my anniversary here and they did not disappointed!

All of the dishes we ordered were delicious with the right portion. Not too much but not too little and gives you the desire to want more of course.

It’s a bit pricey but expected as I’ve checked the menu. The foods are worth every penny though so no regrets and definitely will come back for special occasions!

I only wish I could get a seat at the dining area instead of the bar to be more comfortable. However, since the restaurant has limited spaces, it’s understandable that they prioritise bigger party at the dining area.

I last visited Supernormal in 2021 and have previously had such amazing experiences that I literally tell everyone if there's one restaurant they must visit in Melbourne, it's this one. But after returning myself, I was a bit disappointed!

We ordered the Banquet Menu 2 at $120pp. This is about the same price as last time and should probably have been an early warning sign that other aspects of the experience must have dropped to keep the price so consistent.

When it came to the food, the flavours were certainly good but the serving sizes were all off. I have visited and had the banquet in groups of various sizes, as small as 1 person to this visit with 3. Whilst some of the items were clearly catered to number of guests, there were others where the serving size was the same as I received when dining alone! This was particularly evident with items like the flatbread and the side vegetables/salad. Given the banquet is charged per person I think they need some consistency here.

As for service, it started strong but went downhill. They have clearly become more popular and I got the feeling they try to get people in and out as quickly as possible, one effect of this was that the cocktail of one person on our table was taken away when there were still a few sips left. After we raised it (not in a negative way, more just as an FYI) there was a noticeable downturn in service, with our original server avoiding our table and being replaced by others just coming by to drop off food and go.

On my previous visits, Supernormal had perfected that boutique, casual yet refined vibe, with great food and service to match. This time things felt impersonal and rushed, almost a competition to get through as many tables as possible in the night. A victim of their own success perhaps? I miss the old Supernormal and hope they can get back to what they used to be.

My partner took me here for my birthday and it was such an amazing experience from the food, drinks, service and atmosphere; everything was really enjoyable! We sat at the bar opposite the chefs which was entertaining to watch and see how everything is prepared. All of our dishes were exceptional, extremely flavourful and well executed. I enjoyed every single dish we ordered and they all came out quickly. The drinks were so delicious and refreshing, we kept ordering more! The service was impeccable, prompt, friendly and professional. The dessert was amazing and I even got a special birthday addition at the end. Would highly recommend this restaurant and I will definitely be back!

We were early diners on a Friday night and were the first seated when we arrived at 6pm. The interior of this restaurant was stunning and really reflected the historic building into its design.

We started with a couple of drinks from there by the glass wine menu. This was a short menu but had plenty of intriguing wines of offer and we both enjoyed our selection.

We started with a selection of bites and loved the white anchovy crostini and the steak tartare. The octopus was a stunning looking fish and ultra tender and my dry aged sirloin was cooked perfectly as my main. For dessert we shared the tiramisu which was anything but typical. It has a lovely citrus to it and more defined layers

Service was generally pretty good with most of the staff engaged and helpful with suggestions and advice.

Thoroughly enjoyed our dinner tonight. Beautiful Italian / Australian fusion restaurant, great quality delicious flavorsome food. All tasted amazing. Table and wine service was very attentive and professional.
Would definitely recommend Luci Italian dining to anyone who enjoys great food, tasting plates, entrees, mains and tasty desserts.
Located at front of The Hilton Hotel on Bourke St Melbourne.

Just had a lovely lunch at Lollos, service was very friendly and went the extra mile to ensure my dietary requirements were met. The presentation of the meal was beautiful and the restaurant itself is gorgeous as well.

Happy hour every day 5pm to 7pm. Food was ok, I got a parmy, forgot to ask for Pepper sauce. I wasn't offered any sauce to go with so it was a bit dry.

The retail embodiment of the old idiom 'don't judge a book by it's cover' ... whilst situated in the most run down area of the Melbourne CBD; this no-frills restaurant and bar offers tasty rustic meals and cheap quaffable happy hour booze ... Of equal contrast to its location; is the unusually happy and accommodating table service👌

The food was exceptional especially the steaks, very good quality of meats and cooked to perfection! *chef kiss
My compliments to the chefs! 👍🏻
The atmosphere is lovely, will definitely come back ❤️

Good restaurant with nice good to serve. Food is generally better than expected. Most food are fusion with Asia style.

A pretty solid pub-style diner near Southern Cross Station. The food was really flavourful (I really liked the barbecue pork ribs and pita combo) but the steak was a miss. Would recommend their strawberry coconut margarita as of drinks. Flourless chocolate cake was smooth and delicate.

Went to Lollo for a mid week lunch celebrating a birthday, and we didn't want to leave. The food was beautiful and the service was fantastic . Our waitress really was fabulous. There was a slight wait for one of the cocktails, but cocktails do take longer to make so if you are in a hurry, maybe stick to a standard drink.

Overrated.
I have been wanting to check this one for sometime, their reviews look great and the venue looks posh. Came here with some friends on a Friday night, it took us a while to find the restaurant, which is actually located within the W Hotel. This is not actually clear from their website and my heart sank when I realized it as hotel restaurants don’t tend to be great, and this was no exception. The place looked fairly high-end and staff were friendly, but overall it wasn’t a great experience. We ordered a bottle of sparkling wine for celebration, the waitress poured us the first glass, but spilled some wine on the table during the process. 10 minutes later another waitress came over to top our glasses up, but instead of distributing it, she poured all the remaining sparkling wine into only one person’s glass and then asked us if we would like another bottle. We didn’t. As to starters, the flatbread was delicious and plentiful but the aperol cured ocean trout was unremarkable. Mains were very large with the duck lasagna being enough for two and quite tasty but again, not memorable. One of us ordered flounder and it arrived undercooked, still partly frozen. That’s shocking and shouldn’t happen. We sent it back and the second attempt was excellent. At just over $100 per person we certainly had enough to eat but we didn’t feel that the food was interesting or creative, and we won’t be back.

I had dinner the other night at Luci and the food was good. The house baked olive focaccia was exceptionally good and I refrained from ordering more.

The menu is fine with the selections which we had the tortellini for entree followed by the duck and steak for main.

A side of broccoli went really well and it took in the sauce that came with the main dish which was delicious.

The bombolone and tiramisu for dessert was delightful. I underestimated the size of the tiramisu - I did finish it as it was not overly sweet.

Would recommend Luci for the ambiance and menu.

Food was okay but not great. Pork ribs tough, the grilled Halloumi comes on a bed of capsicum, mushrooms and onion which isn't mentioned on the menu. Prawn share plate is 3 prawns.. it wasn't bad but I had higher hopes.
The service However was beautiful, the place is very cute its a nice cosy place. Hopefully other things (the chicken looked and smelled amazing) live up to the standard

Stayed at the Hilton for 2 nights and had dinner and breakfast in the restaurant. Staff were excellent as was the food.

Let’s just say people aren’t lying when they say this spot has the best chicken parma!! (i’m looking at you @melbfoodieee ) featuring a crumb coat that stayed crispy to the last bite and a cheesy topping, it is so so good! 😍 AND if you’re craving a tender porterhouse steak, this is the spot!

Featured:
•Southern Ranges Porterhouse Steak ($38)🌟
•Chicken Parma ($27.5)🌟🌟
•Sharing Platter (S&P Squid $16, BBQ Ribs $18.5)
•Pørnstar Martini ($20)🌟
•Mojito ($20)

Located within walking distance from Southern Cross Station, Restaurant 1903 does a solid pub meal and has the best happy hour promotions 🍻

Happy Hour is on at 5-7pm everyday and offers $5 pints of beer and glasses of wine! Absolute steal!

Only real issue is that the venue is a little dark and dingy and the platter had hard bread and dry ribs but otherwise their mains were fab!

Made a Tuesday breakfast booking at Platform 270 via a mobile dining app - The Fork. I haven’t been to Platform 270 and after arriving here I realized this is the main dining venue for DoubleTree by Hilton Melbourne.

Although I haven’t been to this property, as a Hilton Diamond guest, I asked the reception if Diamond members entitled to a 25% discount as per Hilton global website. With further confirmation, the receptionist replied the discount only applies to dinner and bar consumption but not breakfast. Not an issue so I promptly asked for a table as I had a booking via The Fork. The receptionist referred me to a waitress who I later know her name as Natasha.

Natasha asked if I want to have their buffet breakfast or A-la-carte menu, I told her I would like to look at both before I decide. Natasha then asked me to find a table and sit down. I saw her walked away very quickly she wasn’t even interested where I was sitting.

As a first timer to Platform 270 and being a small restaurant, naturally I thought this is no big deal she could find me easily later so I chose a smaller table of 2 and sat myself down. Dining at a Hilton property, I would be expecting an A-la-carte menu to be brought to my table next.
I waited……waited…..waited….there was no one checking on me, no one even bothered acknowledging me and I just kept sitting there……

You might ask was the restaurant busy? No.

Was there short staff & everyone running off their feet? No.

Was Natasha the only waitress and attending other emergency issues and couldn’t come back? No!

At that moment I saw Natasha was standing behind the reception chatting away!

I decided to walk across to the reception and asked what was going on? I stated that I sat myself to a table and she could at least brought me a menu to the least. What Natasha replied was very defensive and absurd. She said the menu was there (pointing over at a direction) and stated I shouldn’t raise my voice and “we are not getting anywhere”!

Bitterly disappointed was an understatement. I had no idea where they keep their menu
and it is not unreasonable to expect an A-la-carte menu to be brought to my table.

To make the situation worse, Natasha suddenly made things up and stated that I had told her I like to look at the buffet first!!!! Hence she didn’t bring me the menu!!??

I see this is a serious issue when one’s credibility is in question. Throughout the meal I did not see Natasha and I had no idea what she would say to Hilton to defend herself but I feel that I need to write this feedback, to express not only my poor first impression of DoubleTree by Hilton Melbourne, but to give my side of the picture.

The dining experience has been no doubt awful & no management at Platform 270 approach me to talk over this. Shouldn’t that be common sense? As I walked up to pay my bill, I had a conversation with another waitress “Nos” who I guess she was empathetic. As I asked, she gave me the name card of their Operations Manager- Mr Shreyas Matkari.

Delicious meals, lovely modern ambiance, excellent service. My favourites were the crispy gnocco fritto with gentle truffle flavour, the steak tartare that had a hint of horseradish, and the juicy flavourful ribeye.

Original review in July 2023:
Food coma at Coda Melbourne!

Got a chance to try this Vietnamese Asian fusion restaurant by a recommendation from one of my friends. And oh boy they didn't disappoint.

While they couldn't offer the set menu I was after, the wait staff kindly suggested a combination of interesting dishes all of which were fabulous. My personal fav was definitely the lamb dish with the bread! I also think most of the dishes are designed to go along well with drinks because they were more on the salty side.

Being located at somewhat of an underground, the dimly lit surroundings go well. The music they played during our meal was also not too loud and just right.

Above all, the service offered by the wait staff was friendly, yet professional, and just flawless, including the spacing out of all the dishes we ordered.

My booking was at 6:30pm on a Saturday night for me and my girlfriend.

Updated review in Dec 2023:
Once again, Coda didn't disappoint. Immaculate services by FOH staff (special thanks to Sam & Jasper), and the food was still fabulous as last time.

Highly recommended.

Food was ok, whole flounder below par.
Generous welcome and service but the wine list is not good enough; excellent prestige wines but nothing in the mid range that should be expected.
Over $300 a head for forgettable food and wine that was more than I really wanted.

Dinner was absolutely delicious and sensational probably the best restaurant we visit in Melbourne we had the duck lasagne and duck curry both so rich with flavours and very good quality food I absolutely had amazing time here staff were absolutely friendly and kind I would deathly return here and deathly recommend it to anyone and we felt very welcomed! Staff were absolutely very kind and very friendly thanks again for a lovely night really enjoyed it!

Absolutely loved this restaurant. Each mouthful was a party in my mouth. The fish was amazing as was the duck curry we shared. And the desert was spectacular. Lovely atmosphere, excellent service.

I visited the restaurant at this hotel because I was told how great their food and drinks were. When I walked in, I was immediately greeted by a pleasant server who was extremely attentive and committed to ensuring that my experience was great! I really appreciated that. Moreover, I ordered a Chicken Parma and lime and lemon bitters; I’m glad I didn’t order more because their portions were extremely generous. The Parma was phenomenal! It looked and tasted top-notch and was also quite reasonably priced considering. I am yet to try their other food items but this experience definitely made a great first impression and I can’t wait to go back.

Good location, it’s easy to find it. The atmosphere inside was nice, but not busy, there were only several guests when we had dinner. The waitress took us to a table where was in dark, and close to the kitchen. Actually it was not suitable for chatting and dinner. The food was good, but not great. Lychee matinee was so so, and the waitress didn’t fill up our glasses on time.

Happy hour is the best. Food serving for the price is not too bad. Staff are lovely.

Pretty decent chicken Parma in the CBD and great sharing plates too, especially salt & pepper squid 👌🏻

ORDERED:
🍟  Duck fat gnocco fritto: truffle salt, Reggiano ($7.00)
🥓 Steak tartare: horseradish, confit egg yolk, tapioca crisp ($9.00 each)

🐙 Octopus: chickpea & nduja, potato ($26.00)
🍝 Spaghettini verde: hand-picked spanner crab, heirloom tomato, pagratto ($29.00)
🍝 Saffron tagliatelle: wood roasted lamb, fennel, tomato, pecorino romano ($27.00)

We spent $71.08pp, between 2 people, including credit card surcharge and a mocktail.

REVIEW:
Let's start with the food!
The pasta at Luci was noticeably thinner than the norm. When you twisted it with your fork, it broke apart instead of holding its structure. Surprisingly, this worked really well in the Spaghettini verde dish. 🤩 It added to the overall lightness, and I thought it complemented the seafood flavour really well. Could've had this dish to myself!
Conversely, the fragility of the pasta did not work well with the heaviness of the wood roasted lamb. 😓
The most disappointing was the duck fat gnocco fritto. I'm not too sure what I was expecting, but something that seemed a bit more complex than what seemed like fried pastry dough, puffed, and quite salty.
I felt like the octopus could've really been interesting had it been more charcoaled/grilled, adding a smoky taste.  🔥 For 2, we ordered a lot of food and felt like we could've gone without this octopus dish. 🫢
Overall, the food was quite mid except for the spaghettini verde, which I adored and enjoyed.

🧾  The service was great in the beginning. It was really attentive, quite friendly, but dropped off when it was time to request the bill. It took an inexplicably long time for the bill to come and unsure why it was delayed (almost 10 minutes).

🏛️ Atmosphere is the most appealing factor about Luci. Grand, glamorous white columns washed against a moody, dimly lit interior. It screams luxury and classiness yet an untouchable coldness. You don't normally get this kind of atmosphere anymore (warm and wood tones are really popular in Melbourne), so it was really cool dining in something that felt regal.
🏃 Google maps will direct you into the alleyway, but you could and should go through the Hilton hotel.

Don't miss out on a daily happy hour from 5-7pm ! Sip on beers, wine, and cider for just $5 each — Cheers to a wallet-friendly way to unwind 👌👌

FEATURED:
🍹 Mimosa
🍸 Strawberry & Coconut Margarita
🍷 Shiraz
🍢 DIY Shared plate (salad & pita bread) w/ salt & pepper calamari + grilled prawns
🥩 Southern Ranges Porterhouse Steak 250 gram
🍖 Double Bourbon Sticky Pork Ribs

Indulge in mouth-watering pub food that hits all the right notes!

DIY plate platter was excellent, a variety selection to choose from. Great for sharing!

My favourite was the pork ribs are cooked to perfection just how I like it - tender, flavorful, and easy to pull off the bone. Savor the taste of excellence and I gave it a perfect 10/10!

Definitely recommend the chef's tasting menu for a special occasion - every dish was mouthwatering and perfectly paired with delicious and interesting local wines. I especially enjoyed the crab and the pork fillet. Excellent service, too!

Went for happy hour @$5/glass 🥂

Sharing portion kind of small though - it is a combination of salt & pepper squid with bbq pork ribs.. pita bread is nice
Add on with katsu chicken & wedges after 🤣

Service crew like trainee.. cute!
Chill place

Went here on 15/10/2022 for dinner with my friend. Greeted upon entering with a cheerful smile & pleasant ambience. Table service was excellent & the meal was just as good. We both ordered the Steak & was very nice. A couple of drinks & meals was $94.

Went to platform 270 during our recent stay at double tree and attended breakfast food was better than expected as other hotel only serve toast and coffee maybe some cereal.
Not platform 270 they have eggs (hard boiled, scrambled and done your way via request)
Hash browns , bacon , baked beans , sausage as well as all your fruits sweets and basically anything you could want for breakfast.
10/10 will be dining her again on our next stay

Stayed here for a staycation and ate here on the first night. The spices cauliflower with wild rice, chickpea and herbs were so delicious, that I craved for it the next day! The $5 happy hour for house beer, wine and spirit is a nice touch. My husband ordered the BBQ chicken burger and found it average though.

Invited for dinner, Platform 270 offers modern Australian with a Filipino twist. You can find Platform 270 inside the Hilton's Double Tree hotel. We started with pan seared scallops and sisig which is twice cooked pork jowl with a garlic yoghurt emulsion, fresh tomato salsa on tostada. An absolutely winner and a must order. The scallops were also perfectly cooked and paired perfectly with a blood orange reduction and prosciutto. The mains we tried were the slow cooked beef brisket and a pan fried hapuka . The brisket was so flavoursome and melted in your mouth. Hapuka is one of my favourite fish to eat and this ranks up there as one of the best I've tried. We finally finished with a decadent chocolate torte with a very interesting pepper flavoured ice cream.
Overall our experience was perfect and would highly recommend Platform 270.

Slow service when I was there, but super super super cheap food if you use the Groupon voucher. Pasta portions were very very small which was disappointing as pasta is cheap, so if you're thinking of ordering pasta be prepared to buy some maccas on the way home. Ribs were nice and tender, would recommend. Chocolate martini was great, strong but easy to drink. The apple crumbl was a bit soggy but nice anyway. The baked chocolate cookie was quite large, rich and filling. Great place for a cheap but "fancy" date, would recommend with the Groupon voucher.

Dinner here was okay, expected it to be better because its part of Hilton! Ambiance was nice, modern industrial, friendly staff. Burger was nice, bit small for how it is written on menu, ‘crispy squid’ wasn’t crispy, bit greasy, but was tender. Deserts were best of night, especially the Apple Crumble with figs!